Theme, Mood, and Tone

Theme, Mood, and Tone

Definition:The message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work. Usually must be inferred. You, the reader, may agree or disagree with the author’s theme. There may be more than one theme in a text. THE MEssage

Discovering the Theme • A writer doesn’t usually state the theme directly. • You probably wouldn’t want to read a story that begins this way: “This is a story that shows character matters more than size.” • The writer usually wants you to discoverthe theme for yourself.

Discovering the Theme • One way to discover theme is by analyzing the characters in a story. • How does the maincharacterchange during the story? • What does this change say about life or about people in general?

Discovering the Theme There are also other ways to discover theme—other questions you can ask. Which scenes or passages seem to be most important? What ideas about life do they suggest? Look at the story’s title. What hints does it give you about the story’s meaning?

Purpose of Evaluating the Theme Why bother to figure out a story’s theme? • When we can identify a theme, we can learn from the experiences of others! We can chose to apply these lessons to our own lives. • Not only do themes help usunderstand the story, they may help us be happier and wiser individuals!

Evaluating the Theme • You don’t have to like the way a story ends. Sometimes the hero dies? Why didn’t they get back together? • You don’t have to agree with a theme, either. • You can look at the theme closely and decide if it fits with what youknow about life.

Responsibility Friendship Love Ambition Loss “Big” Ideas • Themes focus on the “big” topics in everyone’s life: • Remember, a theme is not just one word. • The author makes a statement about these common topics.

Helping others can lead to personal fulfillment Friendships can grow and change over time Falling in love can be painful Being too ambitious can lead to unhappiness Death is a difficult but important part of life “Big” Ideas • Themes focus on the “big” topics in everyone’s life: • Remember, a theme is not just a word. • The author makes a statement about these common topics.

Moral Vs. Theme: How can we tell the difference?

Theme Vs. Subject: How can we tell the difference?

Let’s Try It Practice On a beautiful summer afternoon, Grasshopper lay on his back on a leaf, gazing at clouds and humming a little grasshopper song. This was Grasshopper’s favorite thing to do—all day, every day. By and by, Grasshopper’s good friend Ant came by, struggling under a heavy load. “Are you crazy?” Grasshopper sneered at the ant. “It’s way too beautiful outside to work!” “You said that yesterday, Grasshopper,” Ant replied. “And the day before, and the day before, and the day before. . . .” “That’s right, Ant. It’s always too beautiful to work! That’s what I say!” 1. What does each character want?

Let’s Try It Practice 1. What does each character want? On a beautiful summer afternoon, Grasshopper lay on his back on a leaf, gazing at clouds and humming a little grasshopper song. This was Grasshopper’s favorite thing to do—all day, every day. By and by, Grasshopper’s good friend Ant came by, struggling under a heavy load. “Are you crazy?” Grasshopper sneered at the ant. “It’s way too beautiful outside to work!” “You said that yesterday, Grasshopper,” Ant replied. “And the day before, and the day before, and the day before. . . .” “That’s right, Ant. It’s always too beautiful to work! That’s what I say!” Grasshopper wants to lie around all day. Ant wants to get some work done.

Let’s Try It Practice “True, but there’s a little chill in the air, Grasshopper. I’ve got to get ready for winter.” “Time enough for that, Ant. Maybe tomorrow.” Grasshopper leaned back and started humming again. Ant trudged on. By and by, the little chill became a freeze. Ant and his family were cozy and warm in their anthill as the snow began falling. One night, Ant heard a little tapping and went to the door. There stood Grasshopper, shivering and slapping his skinny legs to keep warm. “Let me in, Ant, old buddy. It’s cold out here, and I’m so hungry.” “I don’t know about that, Grasshopper. You’re pretty big for this house, and you probably eat more than all of us put together.” 2. Why does Ant want to work? 3. What happens when winter comes? 4. Why is Ant hesitant about helping Grass-hopper?

Let’s Try It Practice 2. Why does Ant want to work? Ant agrees it’s a beautiful day, but he needs to get ready for winter. “True, but there’s a little chill in the air, Grasshopper. I’ve got to get ready for winter.” “Time enough for that, Ant. Maybe tomorrow.” Grasshopper leaned back and started humming again. Ant trudged on. By and by, the little chill became a freeze. Ant and his family were cozy and warm in their anthill as the snow began falling. One night, Ant heard a little tapping and went to the door. There stood Grasshopper, shivering and slapping his skinny legs to keep warm. “Let me in, Ant, old buddy. It’s cold out here, and I’m so hungry.” “I don’t know about that, Grasshopper. You’re pretty big for this house, and you probably eat more than all of us put together.” 3. What happens when winter comes? Grasshopper wants Ant to feed him and give him a warm place to stay. 4. Why is Ant hesitant about helping Grasshopper? Ant is afraid there won’t be enough for Grasshopper and Ant’s family.

Let’s Try It Practice “True, but there’s a little chill in the air, Grasshopper. I’ve got to get ready for winter.” “Time enough for that, Ant. Maybe tomorrow.” Grasshopper leaned back and started humming again. Ant trudged on. By and by, the little chill became a freeze. Ant and his family were cozy and warm in their anthill as the snow began falling. One night, Ant heard a little tapping and went to the door. There stood Grasshopper, shivering and slapping his skinny legs to keep warm. “Let me in, Ant, old buddy. It’s cold out here, and I’m so hungry.” “I don’t know about that, Grasshopper. You’re pretty big for this house, and you probably eat more than all of us put together.” 5. Without knowing the end of the story, what do you think is a possible theme for the story?

Let’s Try It Practice Without knowing the end of the story, what do you think is a possible theme for the story? “True, but there’s a little chill in the air, Grasshopper. I’ve got to get ready for winter.” “Time enough for that, Ant. Maybe tomorrow.” Grasshopper leaned back and started humming again. Ant trudged on. By and by, the little chill became a freeze. Ant and his family were cozy and warm in their anthill as the snow began falling. One night, Ant heard a little tapping and went to the door. There stood Grasshopper, shivering and slapping his skinny legs to keep warm. “Let me in, Ant, old buddy. It’s cold out here, and I’m so hungry.” “I don’t know about that, Grasshopper. You’re pretty big for this house, and you probably eat more than all of us put together.” • Possible themes: • Plan for the future. • You get back what you put in.

Let’s Try It Practice Here’s one resolution for the story. Ant shut the door in Grasshopper’s face. He’d worked hard all summer while that lazy Grasshopper sat around humming. Too bad for him, Ant thought, and went back to warm his hands at the fireplace. 6. Does this ending change the theme? 7. Does this ending introduce another theme?

Practice 7. Does this ending change the theme? Let’s Try It Ant shut the door in Grasshopper’s face. He’d worked hard all summer while that lazy Grasshopper sat around humming. Too bad for him, Ant thought, and went back to warm his hands at the fireplace. No. There is still a theme about the consequences of playing all the time and not planning for the future. 8. Does this ending introduce another theme? Yes. You can’t always count on friends to rescue you from your mistakes.

Here is a different ending… 9. Does this ending change the theme? Practice Let’s Try It “Please, please, Ant! Just until the snow stops falling. I’ll do anything—and I’ll never be lazy again!” “Oh, all right,” said the kindhearted Ant. “I could use your help in the spring anyway.” 10. Does this ending introduce another theme?

9. Does this ending change the theme? Practice Let’s Try It “Please, please, Ant! Just until the snow stops falling. I’ll do anything—and I’ll never be lazy again!” “Oh, all right,” said the kindhearted Ant. “I could use your help in the spring anyway.” Maybe, maybe not. The work theme doesn’t seem quite as strong because Grasshopper doesn’t suffer consequences. 10. Does this ending introduce another theme? Yes. Friendship is more important than being “right.”

Definition: the feelings that the reader experiences as they read a story. Mood= Me(the reader) Mood is how I feel while I read. The setting, dialogue, and descriptive details help to create the mood. Mood

Definition: the attitude and emotion that the author wants to express in the story. • Tone = Them (the author) • They can’t use the tone of their voice, so they have to use words to show how they feel. • The tone will be one of the following: • Positive • Negative • Neutral Tone

A positive tone might be: Cheerful, humorous, hopeful, joyful, romantic, lighthearted, excited, proud • EXAMPLE: • Sammy Sosa, although he had a few downfalls, is a courageous young man who, with his homerun streak turned baseball around for the better. • Highlight the positive words. POSITIVE TONE

A negative tone might be: Sorrowful, shameful, fearful, bored, angry, sarcastic, hesitant • EXAMPLE: • Sammy Sosa was a liar who corked his bat and cheated, ruining the sport of baseball. • Highlight the negative words. NEGATIVE TONE

A neutraltone doesn’t show strong feelings one way or another. Strictly Factual • EXAMPLE: • Sammy Sosa hit 56 homeruns this year while on the Chicago Cubs. • Highlight any facts. NEUTRALTONE

The MOOD could be: Sad Scared Ashamed Nervous If the TONE is: Serious

The MOOD could be: Amused Offended Entertained If the TONE is: Sarcastic

The MOOD could be: If the TONE is: Cheerful

Toneis the attitude/emotions of the author. Mood is the attitude/emotions of the reader. What is the difference between tone and mood?

Theme, Mood, and Tone